Just the Fire Area (Cam15) Surveillance
Notice that the record received from the Prosecution is incomplete. Ron is shown passing through the pre-fire area at 10:07pm then at the building’s main door at 10:10, but the next provided footage—1 hour 40 minutes later—of the fire area is at 11:47 when the fire alarm activates, after the fire has been burning for a while. Obviously, someone spilled a flammable liquid in that hour-and-forty-minute gap through the fire area, but there is no provided footage to indicate that anyone entered or exited the area.
All of the Provided Footage: 2×2 Meadows Building Surveillance Footage
Four cameras — that’s it! Out of a total of 15 indoor cameras and 2 outdoor cameras, the Prosecution provided footage from only 4 indoor cameras, and key footage from those 4 cameras has been withheld which would exonerate Ron!
No Outdoor Footage
There were two outdoor cameras surveilling the Meadows, but the Prosecution has not provided any of their footage. The footage from each camera would have provided important evidence in Ron’s defense.
The outdoor footage —alone — would have been enough to exonerate Ron, showing that he had left the property and was not near the property when the fire started.
The outdoor footage would have shown a mild fire in the stairwell window while Ron was away.
It would have shown a resident taking their garbage to the dumpster at about the same moment the fire started.
It would have shown Ron approaching the property 1-2 minutes before the fire alarm sounded.
The east camera would have recorded anyone who approached the west building, as well as anyone who approached or left from Ron’s vehicle. (His parking spot was to the right of our “Dumpster” label below.) Investigators claim that Ron took some gasoline from a jug in his truck, and brought that gasoline into the pre-fire area inside the building—but they have not provided any footage or other discovery to substantiate their claim.
Indoor Cameras of Both Floors
Out of a total of 15 indoor cameras and 2 outdoor cameras, the Defense received footage from only 4 indoor cameras, and key footage from those 4 cameras has been withheld, which would exonerate Ron!
The fire was in the north wing on the upper floor and the adjacent stairwell. This 1-way “emergency” stairwell’s door — whose alarm is always disarmed — is sometimes used by residents to access the nearby dumpster, the pet relief area, or to light up a cigarette.
